Xu Tianran's "Gift"

Ming Capital, Xiang Prince Mansion.

Inside the reception hall, a table of expensive dishes was laid out; it was clear that the master of the mansion had put his heart into ordering this meal.

Unfortunately, from the moment the food was prepared and served, not a single person touched it with even a pair of chopsticks. By the time all the dishes had gone cold, the sky outside had turned completely dark.

The entire reception hall was deathly silent. The servants responsible for waiting on the table didn't even dare to breathe too loudly, terrified that the master of the mansion sitting at the head of the table might, in a fit of rage, implicate their innocent lives.

Xu Tianran sat quietly at the head of the table. Upon hearing the report from the Imperial Guard, he merely nodded calmly to show he understood, his face revealing not a hint of dissatisfaction.

But only those who knew him well understood that the more Xu Tianran acted this way, the greater the fury brewing within him. The only reason he wasn't lashing out now was that he felt the time wasn't right.

I don't know how much time passed before he dismissed all the servants in the hall. Upon hearing this order, everyone felt as if they had been granted amnesty; if not for the etiquette required within the Prince Mansion, they would have fled as fast as they could.

Once Xu Tianran was the only one left in the hall, he slowly rose and walked to the window. Looking at the half-moon hanging high in the sky, he gazed into the distance with profound eyes and muttered to himself:

"He had only just awakened his Martial Soul, yet that old geezer Kong Deming was willing to defy my will for his sake..."

"My dear brother... will you ultimately become my asset, or my enemy?"

"I hope I am just overthinking things today. Twin Martial Souls, innate twentieth-level soul power—with such powerful talent, he will surely become a core combat force for the Sun Moon Empire in the future. If he is willing to assist me, I wouldn't even mind sharing the world with him..."

"But that position can only be mine! No one can take it away! My dear brother... you are still too young; you cannot grasp that position. As long as you do not touch my reverse scale, then if we two brothers join forces, why worry about our great cause not flourishing?"

At this thought, a fierce glint flashed across Xu Tianran's eyes:

"If you truly are ignorant of what's good for you and dare to covet a position you shouldn't, then don't blame your brother for being ruthless."

"After all, that is how our Imperial Father ascended to the throne..."

When the words "Imperial Father" left Xu Tianran's lips, the corners of his mouth curled upward involuntarily:

"He is already an old bag of bones, yet he still clings to that position, unwilling to abdicate. Since that is the case, don't blame your son for being heartless. After all, given my eldest brother's personality, if I fail to seize that position, my end will certainly be a shallow grave..."

As he finished speaking, Xu Tianran gripped the wooden frame by the window without warning. With just a slight exertion of force, he crushed it into a handful of powder.

However, at that very moment, a figure completely wrapped in a black robe suddenly appeared not far from him, kneeling on one knee:

"My Lord, intelligence has arrived from the Heaven Dou Empire."

Hearing this, Xu Tianran instantly regained his composure:

"Speak."

"Reporting to my Lord, in order to consolidate their relationship with the Body Sect, the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family intends to betroth Princess Wei Na, who has awakened twin Martial Souls, to Long Aotian, the Young Sect Master of the Body Sect. The engagement ceremony will take place in half a month."

After hearing this news, Xu Tianran immediately narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

The man in black did not hear a response from Xu Tianran and dared not move, remaining on his knees where he was.

About a quarter of an hour later, Xu Tianran asked out of the blue:

"How old is that princess of the Heaven Dou Empire?"

As a professional intelligence officer, the man in black responded quickly:

"Reporting to my Lord, she should be around nine years old."

Having received the answer he wanted, Xu Tianran casually signaled for him to withdraw and began muttering to himself again:

"Nine years old, huh... although she is a bit older, it won't have much of an impact..."

"Heh, my dear brother, although you slighted your brother's face today, I am still willing to send you a gift. I hope that after you accept this gift, you will become as obedient as you were before."

Imperial Palace.

After finishing the absorption of his second soul ring, Xu Tianming shifted his attention to Ye Guyi.

This girl had consumed the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue just like him, and with her Angel Martial Soul—which was once god-tier—challenging a thousand-year soul ring for her first one didn't seem like much of a problem.

However, considering that this girl would be fighting alongside him in the future, he must not be stingy with the help he could provide in the early stages.

After all, the stronger she was, the greater the benefit to him.

But to confirm whether his assistance would be successful, he first communicated with Mavuika.

"What? You want me to help this little girl bear the pressure of the soul ring?"

Mavuika seemed somewhat surprised by Xu Tianming's question, but after thinking it through, she quickly adjusted her mindset:

"It is possible, but if I am to help her, you must have close physical contact with her; otherwise, my power cannot extend into her body."

As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Tianming felt taken aback, then assumed Mavuika was joking with him:

"Helping this girl absorb a soul ring is a very serious matter, Mavuika, stop joking around."

Needing close contact to provide help—no matter how he thought about it, it felt too deliberate!

Seeing that Xu Tianming was serious, Mavuika also dropped her playful tone:

"Why would I joke about something like this? My current power is simply not enough to support me leaving your Mental Sea of Consciousness for too long. Without close physical contact with this girl, how do you expect me to help her? By cheering her on with my thoughts?"

Hearing Mavuika put it this way, Xu Tianming thought about it and realized it actually made sense, so he had no choice but to accept reality.

Fortunately, Kong Deming had just left to find a quiet place to attempt a breakthrough in his cultivation; otherwise, he would have felt quite embarrassed with an elder present.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Tianming looked at Ye Guyi earnestly:

"After the tempering from the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, your body can now likely absorb a thousand-year soul ring without pressure. If you have no issues, I can arrange for someone to take you hunting tomorrow morning...

However, I happen to have a soul ring here that matches your Martial Soul's attributes, but its age has reached two thousand years. If you are willing to try absorbing this two-thousand-year ring, I can protect you and ensure I do my best to guarantee you successfully refine it. But there are always accidents, and no one can guarantee that an accident won't occur...

So, you have two choices now: play it safe and choose to absorb a thousand-year soul ring, or choose to trust me, gamble your life, and break through the limits of a Soul Master to absorb this two-thousand-year soul ring?"